‘Big Love’: ‘Have a chew’

The final season of “Big Love” is off to a promising start. Unless you’re Barb or Margene — things do not look particularly promising for either of them. And, really, things don’t look great for Bill, either. It looks like it’s a season of all his chickens coming back to roost, and those are some angry chickens. A rough time for the Henricksons has the potential for good television.

The season opener dealt with the immediate fallout from Bill’s decision to come out as a polygamist, a choice made with no regard for the possible ramifications for everyone else in his massive family. There was, of course, a media circus, which happened off-camera — all we see of that is that the press left behind litter in neighbors’ yards. (Kind of nice to see that Carl doesn’t seem particularly disturbed by the revelation; the Henricksons could use some allies.) Bill and clan fled all of that, heading into the desert for a wholesome campout. (Why the press didn’t pursue the family — especially since the tabloid folks, in particular, seem fascinated by them — is a question unanswered.)

Margene is taking all of this extremely hard, weeping loudly and obsessively poring over the tabloids. Her mood sinks deeper when she goes to the shopping network to claim her severance package and learns that polygamy violates the morals clause in her contract — no severance for her and no future for her once-thriving business. She does, however, meet a handsome motivational speaker as she’s packing up her office — any chance that Goji Blast isn’t a scam?

Nicki seems to be taking most of this stuff in stride, probably because she has the most invested in the polygamist lifestyle. The biggest issue for her seems to be Margene’s crying, which is annoying, and her growing disgust with Barb, who seems to be developing a taste for red wine.

The kids are having a tough time, too. Bill and Barb sent Tancy away, to stay with Sarah; it apparently doesn’t occur to anyone that is Tancy needs “safe haven,” Nicki’s boys might, too. (Cara Lynn, who’s working at Home Plus and flirting with Don’s son Gary, seems to be doing just fine.) The boys are back in public school, where Wayne gets beaten up at a scouting meeting that appears to have been completely unsupervised — the kids even scrawl “Polyg” on his forehead and body, which Nicki has to use diluted turpentine to remove. Nicki — reluctant to go the principal, as Barb suggested — takes her issues directly to the redheaded ringleader of the assault, calling him names and menacing him, eventually pulling out a red marker and threatening to write epithets on his skin, including “stupid ketchup head.” When he moves to escape her, he smashes into a metal post, knocking a tooth out.

That, of course, comes up at a school board meeting, where Bill and his wives go to complain about the attack. And that’s where it’s clear that Bill never really appreciated how good he had it when Barb was his sole “public wife,” since she seems to be the only one able to conduct herself with grace in public. A bunch of reporters show up to get some more dirt on the family (how big is the press corps in Sandy, Utah?), and Margene snaps, launching, as Niki calls it, a “pottymouth outburst.” In addition, Nicki is accused of attacking a kid, which is not entirely true, though it’s hard to make an argument in favor of her behavior. And so, they wind up fleeing (in two cars, inexplicably).

Bill’s other big public appearance at a constituents’ meeting doesn’t go well, either. The voters feel betrayed, and one even spits on Bill. it looks like he’s not going to have an easy go in the capitol, either — the guy who had promised to be his protector resigned after a DUI arrest, and his successor as speaker is played by Gregory Itzin, who was scheming President Logan on “24.” He’s a terrific actor — let’s hope they don’t misuse him the way they misused Sissy Spacek.

Getting back to Bill and his self-created travails: There’s no respite for him at his business. His employees are disgusted with him, and are leaving in droves. Even Don — who has been even more loyal to Bill and his ideas than Barb has — has finally had enough of Bill. Don finally confronts Bill at an open house (attended by no one ’til the very end), calling him out for never apologizing and for failing to see that his actions have broad consequences; that seems to have in impact on Bill. Though the impact may be dulled by the fact that, shortly thereafter, a small group of polygamists turn up on his doorstep, eager to meet someone who represents their interests.

The action did swing over to the compound briefly. Like Bill, Alby spent some time in the desert, though he was alone (and a lot dustier) on his retreat. When he returned, he told Laura, his creepy No. 1 wife, “I was purified in the desert. Now I’m going to purify the faith.” What do you suppose that means? And how do you suppose that’s going to throw a wrench into Bill’s plan to present polygamy as a perfectly normal lifestyle?

We also found out where Adaleen wound up: In a bomb shelter, apparently on Alby’s orders, as punishment for burning down the clinic. Adaleen is apparently still pregnant — lots of potential in that storyline.

The Ana/Goran/Margene storyline seems to be wrapping up. Bill made some sort of deal with the INS that gives Goran a month to get out of the country; whether Ana goes with him looks to be up in the air, though he and Margene seem to now be divorced.

So, what did you think? Where do you think things are headed this season? And do you get the feeling this will be better than last season?